Patience by Julie

Patience by Julie - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

PATIENCE

If I could give a teacher one (1) piece of advice to help me learn is a question that brings out an emotional response in most people (including me). This is especially true for the baby boomers. Up until around 1968, corporal punishment was still used in many public and most parochial and private schools. It was a tool that many teachers used to make a kid wake-up and pay attention. In fact, just the fear of it kept most students in line. But on kids with childhood development disorders such as ADHD and autism (who couldn’t control their focus), this tool was akin to torture. The year that I started public school (1969) was the year that corporal punishment had been abolished in the State of California. Unfortunately though, for some teachers, the attitude was still there. My third grade teacher was downright mean. However, my second grade teacher exhibited what I believe to be the most important quality for the classroom. That quality is patience.

A teacher who has patience helps their students learn because they are always willing to answer questions from their students. They are willing to change their lesson plan if the current one isn’t working. A teacher who has patience is not easily rattled by their students. Instead, they try to get through to through to the more troublesome students though one-on-one sessions after school. A teacher who has patience is able to develop and almost “sixth sense” when dealing with their classes. And finally, patience can be learned.

When I think back on all the teachers that I had from elementary school to college, my favorite teachers were always very patient. In particular, most of my favorite teachers were English teachers because they were so patient with their students. These teachers left their students well-prepared for the next grade up. They were also very influential in my choice of college major (BA in English).